Following the recent comments of Magic Johnson, it seems very possible that the Los Angeles Lakers will be making a trade or two in the coming months.
When Magic Johnson took control of the Los Angeles Lakers‘ future back in February, we all knew big changes were on the horizon. While it’s unclear if the coming changes will signal a bright new era for one of the NBA’s most storied franchises, it’ll be interesting to watch it all unfold.
Magic hasn’t been shy about dropping hints on his possible plans for the team. In fact, on Thursday, he fanned the flames by saying that just about every player on the roster could be had via trade — except for one. While doing a radio interview on ESPN Los Angeles, Johnson had this to say about the Lakers’ untouchables:
"“I would say probably the only player that we would say, hey, we would probably not move is Brandon Ingram.”"
That essentially means this team is open for business. While that wouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise, it does prove that Magic isn’t afraid to make a deal this offseason. We know he’s willing to do whatever it takes to return this franchise to relevance. But is he willing to ship off his top players if he believes it gets them closer to contender status?
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if an actual deal comes to fruition. While we wait, though, it seems reasonable to speculate on which players are the most likely to be playing elsewhere in 2017-18.
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That’s why I’ve put together this list. It’s obviously based mostly on the rumors we’ve heard so far, but there’s no denying that these five players could all be on the move this offseason.
With that in mind, here are the five Lakers I believe stand the best chances of getting traded in 2017. Take it with a grain a salt, though. Just because they have the best odds, doesn’t necessarily means the odds are high. Keep that in mind and you’ll do just fine.